Category: Announcements

The Tokyo International Amateur Radio Association (TIARA) and FMU organized an Emergency Communications Laboratory (EmComm Lab) event at TIARA’s regular meeting place in Meguro Ward. Extensive discussion and hands-on evaluation of equipment accompanied a presentation by FMU’s Dr. Ken Nollet, drawing on the expertise of TIARA members from around the world. As with Dr. Nollet’s 13 June 2014 presentation to TIARA, EmComm Lab was streamed online for members outside Japan, and annotated slides can be downloaded for personal scholarship and non-commercial educational activities within “fair use” copyright and other applicable laws. The notes associated with each slide concisely reconstruct what was said and done. Material has been added or edited for clarity and to accommodate a broader audience.

Part 2 introduces an outdoor equipment validation and proof-of-concept project that falls in between a tabletop exercise and a full-scale deployment.

Governments around the world recognize the Amateur Radio Service for its ability to promote international goodwill at all times, and to provide emergency communication when other channels are damaged or overloaded. TIARA, founded in 1972, is a forum for Amateur Radio operators of all nationalities who live in Tokyo or have a special interest in Japan.

November 28 EmComm Lab participants expressed their hopes for future programs. Bill Stenson (7J1AAB in Japan, NA2Y in America) was among the nominees to lead a future EmComm Lab. Otherwise known as William D. Stenson, founder of Forte, a science communications firm in Tokyo, Bill is active in the Hood River County Amateur Radio Emergency Service when he is stateside. In February, 2015, Bill Stenson will be in Salt Lake City, Utah to attend the All Hazards Incident Management Team, Communications Unit Leader Course (AHIMT COM UL). In the meantime, he recommends this reference from ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio in the United States:

Dr. Wolfgang Weiss and Dr. Hiroshi Yasuda from UNSCEAR visited FMU on 13 November 2014. This informal visit followed an UNSCEAR workshop held the previous night at Fukushima University, just a few kilometers from our campus.

FMU staff spoke about several topics related to the Fukushima Health Management Survey. General remarks from Prof. Ohto and Prof. Yasumura were followed by details about the Basic Survey from Dr. Ishikawa and a PowerPoint presentation by Prof. Nollet on baseline results of the Thyroid Ultrasound Examination program.

Dr. Weiss talked about UNSCEAR’s plans for the future, including their willingness to impartially analyze data that FMU and other institutions publish in peer-reviewed scientific journals, with the intend of making comprehensive and widely accessible reports to the world every few years.

Dr. Eeva Salminen visited FMU. She is a Research Professor of Health Risks and Radon Safety at Finland’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority. She added Fukushima to her travel itinerary around Japan at the request of a long-time friend and colleague. FMU invited her to speak about the Chernobyl nuclear accident and its impact on Finland.

Part of Finland experienced fallout of radioactivity just after the Chernobyl accident. The level of radioactivity in Finland was higher than that in Fukushima after our earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis. Finish authorities, like FMU, deal rationally with personal concerns by maintaining open lines of communication with the public. Even today, background radiation is continuously measured and displayed by monitoring posts around Finland, just as it is done in Fukushima.

Dr. Salmonen, as a young mother at the time of the Chernobyl accident, acknowledged her initial anxiety about children’s safety. However, she does not anticipate any increase in thyroid cancers in Fukushima as a result of the Fukushima Daiichi accident.